SIPTU Bus Drivers in Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann have voted by over 90%, in both companies, in favour of industrial action and strike action in a ballot counted last Friday afternoon, 10th April, in Liberty Hall, Dublin 1.
The ballot resulted from the breakdown of Labour Relations Commission (LRC) talks involving the transport unions, representatives of the bus companies, the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the Department of Transport.
SIPTU Utilities and Construction Division Organiser, Owen Reidy, said: ‘This result demonstrates the significant frustration amongst drivers in both companies at the lack of progress in addressing workers’ concerns over the NTA plan to privatise 10% of bus services.
‘We have been unable to persuade the NTA, to date, to abandon their flawed privatisation plan.
‘SIPTU has also tabled a number of issues in the LRC facilitated talks, which were instigated by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Pascal Donohoe, that have not been adequately dealt with.’
He added: ‘This combined with both bus companies failure to guarantee the tenure, security and quality of our members’ employment has led to an impasse in the talks process and our members strong mandate for action.
‘SIPTU senior shop stewards from both companies will meet on Monday to discuss how to proceed.’
Meanwhile, a dispute is looming at Bord na Móna, the semi-state company responsible for the mechanised harvesting of peat, primarily in the Midlands of Ireland.
At a general meeting of the Bord na Móna (BNM) Group of Unions, last Thursday evening, 9th April, workers decided that if current talks with management at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) do not deliver a workable agreement there will be an immediate ballot for industrial action across all sections of the company.
The general meeting, which took place in the Tullamore Court Hotel, Tullamore, County Offaly, was attended by several hundred workers from across the semi-state company.
BNM Group of Unions secretary and SIPTU Organiser, John Regan, said: ‘Yesterday’s meeting was arranged by the Group of Unions Committee in order to brief members on the current state of talks with the company.
‘In the last seven weeks representatives of the BNM Group of Unions have engaged with management at ten LRC conciliation conferences.’
He added: ‘The meeting was dominated by discussion of a BNM plan designed to slash and burn the pay of members working in the company’s business units by 17% up to 47%, which represents from 5,000 euros to 25,000 euros in lost earnings.
‘The sections not facing a direct attack to their pay are facing similar cuts in their real earnings due to the impact of short time working or layoffs for up to four months. This amounts to a loss of income of at least 5,000 euros per worker.’
Unite official, Colm Quinlan, said: ‘These harsh cuts are partly due to poor sales but in the main result from the impact of the carbon tax which was recently introduced by the government.
‘The increase in production costs of BNM products due to the imposition of this tax has left the company at a disadvantage against competitors in the peat fuel products business who do not have to meet the same requirements.’
TEEU official, Darren Erangey, said: ‘A Group of Unions Committee proposal for the immediate activation of a ballot of all members across BNM operations if the current LRC process does not deliver a successful outcome was unanimously supported by the general meeting.
‘It was clear from the meeting that our members remain steadfast in opposing any attempt by management to unilaterally impose its race to the bottom agenda as outlined in its BNM Transformation Programme.’
• In the north of Ireland, the Unite union is considering industrial action over a Translink consultation on railway changes.
Translink is ‘inviting the public to tell them how they use local NI Railways services to help plan network changes to be introduced this summer’.
It focuses on early morning, evening and Saturday services on the Bangor-Portadown, Newry and Larne lines.
Unite Regional Officer with responsibility for Translink workers, Davy McMurray, was highly critical of the proposed new consultation on train service cuts.
He said last Thursday: ‘Translink will follow-up their four-week ‘sham’ consultation on bus service cuts which ends tomorrow (April 10th) with a similar exercise for proposed rail cuts kicking off with a public information meeting in Portadown.
‘While the so-called consultation on bus cuts didn’t afford the public anywhere near the usual twelve-week period for a consultation, the proposed consultation on train cuts will close only twelve days after the first ‘public information’ meeting.
‘Yet again, rather than coming out with clear proposals and seeking an engagement with the travelling public on that basis, Translink’s questionnaire asks respondents a series of “leading” questions which are clearly designed to justify their unspecified plans for rail service cuts.
‘This is another consultation focussed on public information meetings which are not publicly-advertised, which are timed to exclude the public, for example that at Portadown runs from 7.30am-10am.
‘What’s worse is that many towns which will be affected by cuts such as Lisburn, Newry and Whitehead have no planned information events at all.
‘This is not a serious consultation but a rubber-stamping exercise designed to provide political cover for damaging austerity cuts to our public transport schedules.
‘This will fool no-one and provides no justification for management cuts.
‘Workers in Translink have been deeply angered by management manoeuvring throughout this process.
‘First they made a big show of a tinkering exercise which failed to address waste on bloated management structures, then they implemented an above-inflation hike to fares without any formal consultation, and now they are conducting bogus consultation exercises geared to providing some cover for their pre-ordained but undisclosed cuts to bus and rail services.
‘In the background, the DRD is quietly going through the formalities of a consultation exercise on legislation specifically designed to facilitate the contracting-out and privatisation of bus and rail services in Northern Ireland.
‘In response, Unite is calling together our representatives from across all sections of Translink early next week to agree an industrial action strategy with the aim of protecting our members’ jobs and defending the integrity of Northern Ireland’s public transport system.’
Translink is holding a series of public meetings as part of its consultation that runs until 1 May: Portadown Train Station: 13 April 07:30-10:00 BST; Carrickfergus Railway Station: 16 April 10:00-12:30 BST; Larne Train Station: 16 April 14:00-16:30 BST; and Belfast Central Station and Great Victoria Street Station: 21 April 16:00-18:30 BST.
